Spoiled by COVID-19: Geontology, Pathogenesis, and Resistance among the Akawaio

Journal article

This article examines notions of disease and geontology among the Akawaio people of Guyana within the context of COVID-19. It begins with an ethnographic encounter that one of the authors experienced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and examines its ramifications through an in-depth analysis of Akawaio concepts concerning pathogenesis in contexts of malevolent human and other-than-human agency, as well as Akawaio histories of resisting encroachments and predations by Europeans and other outsiders in the broader region. Centred around local notions of ‘spoiling’ through sorcery-related interventions or infractions against certain ethical norms, the article considers ontologies that framed and contextualised the COVID-19 pandemic for many Akawaio people in the Upper Mazaruni River basin of Guyana.

Authors: Andrew Whitaker, J; G. Cooper, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford Anthropology
• Host title: 2025 General issue
• Journal: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford
• Volume: 17
• Issue: Journal of the Anthropological Society of Oxford, Vol. 17 (2025): 2025 General issue
• Pages: 23-44
• Publication date: 2025-12-30
• DOI: 10.82256/jaso.v17i1.408
• ISSN: 2040-1876
• Language: English
• Keywords: Context (archaeology); Ethnography; Pandemic; Psychological intervention; Subjectivity